The present disclosure generally relates to fluid flow regulation in a subterranean formation, and, more specifically, to wellbore systems with adjustable flow control and methods for their deployment during operations in a subterranean formation.
It can often be beneficial to regulate the flow of formation fluids within a wellbore penetrating a subterranean formation. A variety of conditions and/or intended purposes can necessitate such flow regulation including, for example, preventing water and/or gas coning, minimizing water and/or gas production, minimizing sand production, maximizing oil production, balancing production from various subterranean zones, equalizing pressure among various subterranean zones, and/or the like.
Likewise, regulation of the flow of injection fluids such as, for example, water, steam or gas, within a wellbore can also sometimes be desirable. Flow regulation of an injection fluid can be particularly useful, for example, to control the distribution of the injection fluid within various subterranean zones and/or to prevent the introduction of the injection fluid into currently producing zones.
A number of different types of flow resistance systems have been developed in order to meet the foregoing needs. Many flow resistance devices can variably occlude the passage of some fluids more than others based upon one or more physical property differences between the fluids. Illustrative physical properties of a fluid that can determine its rate of passage through a variable flow resistance system can include, for example, viscosity and density. Variable flow resistance systems can promote the passage of enhanced ratios of a desired fluid to an undesired fluid through a flow pathway containing the variable flow resistance system compared to that obtained when the variable flow resistance system is not present. Many variable flow resistance devices function autonomously as a consequence of their design and will be referred to herein as autonomous inflow control devices (AICDs), a number of which will be familiar to one having ordinary skill in the art. Many AICDs function by inducing rotational motion in a fluid, such that lower viscosity fluids experience a longer transit time therethrough than do more viscous fluids, such as oil or a like hydrocarbon resource. Other AICDs function by inducing movement of a moveable plate or a moveable piston in the fluid, such that a lower viscosity or lower density fluid experiences a reduced flow pathway. Still other AICDs function by restricting the flow of a higher viscosity fluid, such as water, compared to a lower viscosity fluid, such as gas. The preferential passage of oil or a like hydrocarbon resource through an AICD can allow enhanced production from a subterranean formation to be realized. AICDs may be used in other subterranean operations as well, not just during the production stage.
Although AICDs can be used with considerable success during subterranean operations, there are some challenges associated with their use that are not readily addressed at present. Most often, a set number of AICDs are housed in a flow control assembly that is coupled to the outer surface of a wellbore pipe, which may also be referred to herein as production tubing or completion tubing. Accordingly, flow regulation using AICDs is presently an all or nothing venture for a well operator, at least without considerable and costly manufacturing alterations to produce custom flow control assemblies with a desired number of AICDs. At present, a well operator is unable to modify an AICD configuration in the field if last minute changes are desired based on a change in the well condition.